What Drives You To Write

Sitting at the kitchen table a few mornings ago, I realized something - writing is addictive.

Not what you imaged I realized? Sitting there jotting down notes of what reviews I needed to do, I realized that sometimes I can’t help but write. More over, I want and need to write. It doesn’t matter if it’s a review, a blog post, a note or just my ‘to-do’ list - I have to write. I have to put pen to paper, if only to scribble. Maybe that’s why I tend to collect pens and mechanical pencils.

I’m sure it probably has something to do with 30-plus years of writing newspaper articles. It just becomes a part of you.

Then I wondered how is it if you are an author?

Are you consumed by writing? Does the desire come in phases where you find yourself jotting down thoughts on anything you can find? Does the need to write strike you at odd times, odd places? Do the voices inside your head ever sleep? When they sleep, does it worry you that they might not wake up? Do you feel compelled to take your laptop with you everywhere you go?

If you’re an author, have you ever been so immersed in the words you need to write that you lost all sense of time and place? If so, was the work some of the best you’ve done or did it have to be rewritten at a slower pace with more thought?

As you can tell, the need to write also leads me to question after question. Often it seems I question everything. However, when it comes time to pose a question, I sometimes draw a blank. I think I do this because I focus too much on a specific topic and forget to get lost in the subject and let it lead me to the next question and the next.

During my years as a reporter, I always tried to take detailed notes about everything. I didn’t always use all the information I gathered, but I had it just in case. I found that as I wrote my article, it lead to other questions and I wanted to have the answers.

I also tried to see the article from the readers point of view. I knew all the background information, but they didn’t. What other questions would they want answers to that I could give them? When I finished an article I always tried to read over it to see if it caused me to ask additional questions or want more information.

One of the things I miss about the newspaper business is covering trials, especially murder cases. I enjoyed taking all the information from the trial and condensing into an article. It was hard at times when I was on a short deadline, but it was interesting. I always had questions that were never answered during the trial.

Another aspect of writing I miss is letter writing. My best friend (who lives in Texas) and I use to write letters just about every week. They were usually several pages long and covered every topic imaginable. We do good now to send each other an occasional card and we email once or twice a month. There is something special about letter writing. It can be fun between friends or romantic between lovers. Just think about all the letters from World War I and II that couples wrote. Nowadays I image soldiers and their families do more emailing. Do you write letters? Is it a lost art you wish you did more of? Do you have any old love letters tied with ribbon and stored away?

Back to blog writing. In asking questions of the authors who visit here, I try to tailor the questions to their writing and their current release. Sometimes I wonder if I should ask questions unrelated to this. But then, the purpose of their visit is to let readers know about their new book. What are your thoughts on this? As a reader, do you want to know other things about a writer than about their current work? As an author, do you want to talk about other things or focus on your writing and the new book? Or maybe a combination of both would work?

When the desire to write comes over you, you begin to write and then have to stop - is it easy to get back into that grove of writing when you can return or do you have to wait until the mood strikes again? Crazy question - is there a trigger that helps you write? Is there a certain song or smell or setting that helps your creative juices flow?

I appreciate you taking time today to read my ramblings about writing and nutty questions. So, are you driven to write? If so, what are you driven to write - notes, reviews, blog posts, to-do-list, novels or something else?

BTW, the flower photo is my way of sharing a bit of spring with everyone as we deal with this crazy, unpredictable weather we’re having. These bloomed out yesterday just in time for the severe weather alert today.